Wednesday, 30 May 2012

The One Mile Bakery, Pontcanna Review

When Mrs G and I were lucky enough to get on the property ladder it was a two way battle between joining team Penylan or team Pontcanna. Both areas ticked all the right boxes for Mrs G; old houses with period features; plenty of coffee shops and most importantly a wide range of nicknackeries to feed her tat purchasing habit. Penylan eventually won and it’s a decision we’ve been very happy with……until today.

For today, we received a delivery from The One Mile Bakery.

Open for only two weeks, the One Mile Bakery produces homemade bread, soups and preserves which are delivered by bike or foot to within a one mile radius of proprietor Elisabeth Mahoney’s house in Pontcanna. The bakery works on a subscription basis (minimum one month subscription). Everything is fresh (our bread was still warm when we received it), seasonal (the bread contained Wild Garlic from Llandaff fields), locally sourced (see previous brackets) and most importantly delicious.

It’s probably worth talking about the bread first. After all it is a bakery. Both the wild garlic pesto loaf and the cheddar, chilli & coriander bread were stunning. Both warm and soft, the wild garlic pesto loaf was streaked with bags of mild garlicky goodness whilst the other loaf was flecked throughout with nuggets of cheddar, chilli and garlic. You can tell a loaf is good if you’ll happily munch it on its own. I ate half of each loaf.

Spring minestrone was the season of new life in a bowl; fresh, light, clean and full of greenery. The peas, French beans, celery, artichokes and conchigle all had the right amount of bite. And, a swirl of mint and almond pesto brought the dish alive with a wallop of flavour.

A final mention should go to the strawberry, rhubarb, vanilla and lavender jam. Having decided it was probably a sensible option to not have any more bread for dessert, I began to spoon it into my mouth straight from the jar. It’s some of the nicest jam I’ve ever eaten; a perfect balance of fruit, fragrance and sweetness.

Before you start getting too excited, you need to know whether you live in the one mile radius of the One Mile Bakery. However, before you start holding a ruler up to Google Maps, I think as long as you’re in Pontcanna, Llandaff or Canton you’re probably in. You can also collect from the bakery itself. As for Penylan? Well, I’m 4.2 miles away so I’m well and truly out.

Now you can see my quandary. Do I sell up immediately and move to Pontcanna? Or do I pray that the one mile bakery becomes the four point two mile bakery?

I was kindly sent complementary samples of The One Mile Bakery’s products.

About Gourmet Gorro

My name is Ed Gilbert. I'm an indiscriminate glutton who enjoys a late night doner as much as a bit of posh. I like to think I can occasionally share a valid opinion about food when my judgement hasn't been clouded by the meat red mist. I'm a Cardiff based Geordie who's spent time living in Newcastle, London, Chester and Cambridge. I mostly write reviews of restaurants in Cardiff, South Wales.

I use a Lumix LX5 camera. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.